Workers reject the Central Government’s Policies

Submitted by vivek
on Wed, 19/02/2014 - 02:42

Thousands of Railway workers protest in Mumbai

Thousands of railway workers demonstrated at 5 p.m on 5th February in front of the Railways office. Many women workers participated in this demonstration organized by the National Railway Mazdoor Union. Several new trains are introduced each year, but appointments of the requisite number of workers to manage the increasing responsibilities are never made. There are many vacancies amongst the loco drivers, linesmen, guards, signalmen, maintenance and repair workers, c&w, etc. since some time and no permanent workers have been appointed to fill these. The railway administration is only interested in retiring workers. Therefore, there is increasing burden of work on the employees, which leads to stress and consequent risk to the safety of the passengers. The main demand of the workers is to fill these vacancies immediately; besides this, they are also opposing the government’s policy on FDI in Railways.

A New Pension Scheme was implemented on 1st January 2004 for the railway workers. According to the Scheme, 10% is to be deducted from the employee’s wage which will be matched by a 10% contribution from the Railway administration. However, the families of the workers who have expired have received nothing from the scheme. When the workers sought clarification from the “Permanent Negotiating Machinery (a committee set up by the government), the administration responded that it knew nothing about where the pension amounts may be lying. The other major demand of the workers is that such an anti-worker and fraudulent pension scheme be withdrawn and the earlier pension scheme be reinstated for all workers.

There is a consistent dearth of hospitals and doctors for railway workers and medicines and other facilities are also mostly not available. This results in poor health care services for the railway workers. Their demand is that this issue should be addressed seriously. Militant slogans were raised against the policies of the central government and in rousing support of the unity of the workers. Mazdoor Ekta Lehar extends its hearty support to the railway workers.

PARTY DOCUMENTS

The first part of this pamphlet is an analysis of facts and phenomena to identify and expose the real aims behind the Note Ban. The second part is devoted to a critical appraisal of the government’s claims that it will reduce inequality, corruption and terrorism. The third part is what Communist Ghadar Party believes is the real solution to these problems and the immediate program of action towards that solution.

100 years ago Ghadar Party was formed by Indians in the US.It was historic milestone in our anti-colonial struggle.

The goal of this party was to organise a revolution to liberate our motherland from British servitude and establish a free and independent India with equal rights for all. It believed this to be the necessary condition for our people to hold their heads high anywhere in the world.

Call of the Central Committee of Communist Ghadar Party of India, 30th August, 2012

Working class representatives from all over the country are gathering on 4th September, at a time when a titanic struggle is going on in our country. The struggle is between the majority of toiling and exploited people and a minority of exploiters. It is between the majority whose labour expands wealth and the minority who enjoy the fruits of wealth creation on the basis of their private property and positions of power.